Greengrocers' Apostrophes - Page 2

Wynonie Harris · 22-11-2008, 21:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lilly

Arrrrgggh!! Margaret, you little tinker! How dare you deface my signature!

I am not an English teacher. I could have been, I should have been but I'm not.

I'm just someone who is a stickler for spelling and grammar.

"How dare you deface my signature" is a question and should have a question mark at the end of the sentence. There should also be a comma between "been" and "but".

Must try harder!

West Ender · 22-11-2008, 22:22

Ah, it's so good to find other pedants, nit-picking away, just like me.

See you in the staff room, Mr Harris.

Royboy39 · 22-11-2008, 22:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gayle

The use of HAS and HAVE also annoy me.

Everytime I go past Oscar Bears nursery on Blackburn Rd it annoys me

Oscar Bears have vacancies.

Thats clear enough............we have seats for bums. no dots or dashes.
Plain and simple.

The word 'Vacancies' would also apply?

Lilly · 22-11-2008, 23:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

"How dare you deface my signature" is a question and should have a question mark at the end of the sentence. There should also be a comma between "been" and "but".

Must try harder!

Wowzer! I am impressed!

I take your first point on board and can only offer my most humble apologies.

I'm not convinced about the second point though.

Fifteen years ago when I was at school I was taught that a comma was not necessary before a conjunction. Clearly it was different in your day.

It's great that we are having this conversation though. I don't know what they teach kids about commas these days.

It all seems to be txt spk now.

Caz · 22-11-2008, 23:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benipete

I go along with the falling standards,but have you tried telling that to the powers that be.
I had 7 GCE's when I was 15.OK they were only O levels, but now from my observations and looking at the watered down versions that apply to examinations now this generation will be drawing the OAP before they reach that standard and sadly it is not their fault.

Oh dear Benepete! The irony!

Or did you make that mistake deliberately then?

cashman · 23-11-2008, 00:05

pedantic people set my teeth on edge, least they did when i had em, what the hells it matter? so long as ya can understand people n they aren't insulting ya, whats the big deal?

Caz · 23-11-2008, 00:13

The big deal is that Beni was commenting on todays education system and made the same mistake ! It's that easy!

Was meant as a little bit of humour cashy, hence the smiley.

Studio25 · 23-11-2008, 02:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

...what the hells it matter? so long as ya can understand people n they aren't insulting ya, whats the big deal?

It's common sense. If someone doesn't make the effort to write using correct English, the effort "saved" by not giving a sh*t has to be recuperated somewhere, and that effort comes from the reader.

If you text someone lazily, it's a one-on-one communication and they'll either accept your message or ignore it if it's not worth it.

Forum messages, though, might be read by dozens. What you're basically saying is that your reluctance to write "you" instead of "ya" and "and" instead of "n" means your time is more valuable than the cumulative time of all the accywebbers who try to make sense of your message?

Benipete · 23-11-2008, 02:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caz

Oh dear Benepete! The irony!

Or did you make that mistake deliberately then?

Oh dear Cosser you could have got my name right.

Caz · 23-11-2008, 09:39

Haha bonipate!

We were talking apostrophes, lol. And I wasn't criticising the education system for getting wrong what you did!

Wynonie Harris · 23-11-2008, 09:55

Don't think it matters on a messageboard, as long as you're not totally incomprehensible, and my comments on Lilly's post were tongue-in-cheek, anyway. I think it does matter in printed material like brochures, magazines etc, where misprints look totally unprofessional.

Incidentally, Caz, I hate to be the one to say it, but shouldn't your signature say "Formerly known as Cazzer"? Or do you just go by the name Cazzer when you dress up in your posh frock?

yerself · 23-11-2008, 10:38

I've posted this in the past. For those who haven't seen it before, have a read:

The Importance of Correct Punctuation

Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy--will you let me be yours?
Gloria

Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours,
Gloria

Caz · 23-11-2008, 11:00

Quote:

Incidentally, Caz, I hate to be the one to say it, but shouldn't your signature say "Formerly known as Cazzer"? Or do you just go by the name Cazzer when you dress up in your posh frock?

Lol, Mick put that in, not me!

Hadn't noticed, shall have to correct it.

The point I was trying to make in a friendly way was, these mistakes are so easy to make, but if you insist on being a pedant about these things, make sure you get it correct yourself.

cashman · 23-11-2008, 11:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Studio25

It's common sense. If someone doesn't make the effort to write using correct English, the effort "saved" by not giving a sh*t has to be recuperated somewhere, and that effort comes from the reader.

If you text someone lazily, it's a one-on-one communication and they'll either accept your message or ignore it if it's not worth it.

Forum messages, though, might be read by dozens. What you're basically saying is that your reluctance to write "you" instead of "ya" and "and" instead of "n" means your time is more valuable than the cumulative time of all the accywebbers who try to make sense of your message?

no i'm saying its a local message board NOT Eton.

katex · 23-11-2008, 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

"How dare you deface my signature" is a question and should have a question mark at the end of the sentence.
Must try harder!

Must admit Lilly, I probably wouldn't have put a question mark at the end of this ... mainly because I wouldn't have expected an answer..

I make loads of mistakes on words when putting up a post, and notice them when it's too late. Probably put far too many commas in at times, but just try to do it so it make sense to the reader.

Don't forget also, that most people do not touch type, and can be very difficult to get a post through and understand Cashy's use of 'n' ... would probably take him all night to do a post, and prefer to have his comments sooner than later.